Governor Ganduje’s Free Primary Education Policy Laughable -Doguwa

By Umar Haruna  Doguwa.

Governor of Kano State Dr. Abdullahi Umar  Ganduje doesn’t fulfill most of the promises taken during his inaugural speech.

“We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth and listen to the song of that siren till she transformed us into beasts “~ Patrick Henry

I was the pioneer elected All Progressives Congress (APC) party Chairman Kano State.

As Chairman, I organized, coordinated, and spearheaded the processes and campaigns that brought Governor Ganduje to power in 2015. It means I am well positioned to know all that has transpired before, during, and after his emergence as the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and as Governor.

My reasons for writing this piece today, therefore are: First,

I am duty-bound to review and reflect on the promises and pledges we made to the good people of Kano State against the backdrop of darkness, occasioned by misgovernance enveloping Kano today.

Secondly, I write this as a True Muslim knowing fully well how all religions implore their followers to fulfill promises and pledges made by individuals or parties. Thirdly, my reason is to echo the silent screaming of the hapless majority bearing the brunt of inept leadership that in any case, they did not vote for.

At his inauguration for the first term of office as Governor, Ganduje uttered the following words: “I pledge to continue with the good works we started since the first tenure of our administration (1999-2003/2011-2015). There is no gainsaying that the APC as a party and we as contestants, in particular, gained tremendously from this colossal giant (Kwankwaso) whose monumental strides virtually obliterated the relevance of other parties in the State. I on behalf of all elected officeholders, therefore, assure you that we will continue to be good ambassadors of the Kwankwasiyya movement in the service of our dear State and the country at large”(Gov. Ganduje’s inaugural speech 2015, page 1 paragraphs 2).

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This was the first reassurance that Governor Ganduje gave to the good people of Kano State. This inaugural speech was the seal on all promises and pledges made by myself as chairman of the party (APC) and leader of the campaign tour on his behalf and Governor Ganduje (Then Deputy Governor and our party’s candidate) to Kano State electorates during our tour of the 44 Local Governments Area councils which was delivered a few minutes after he was administered to an OATH of office by the then Acting Chief Judge of the State with the    Holy Quran.

This was watched and witnessed by thousands of good people of Kano, including myself standing next to him on the podium. Born on 25th December 1949 (Officially, on Christmas day), Governor Ganduje must have known the gravity of making promises, pledges, and his subsequent physical swearing with the Holy Quran and its consequences before making it.

I am particularly craving the indulgence of Kano citizens and Nigerians, in general, to read and re-read that inaugural speech of Gov. Ganduje in 2015 to see for themselves the many mouth-watering promises and pledges it contains, especially on the continuation of the “Excellent works started under the able leadership of the indefatigable leader Engr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso during his first and second Tenure” as conspicuously stated by Gov. Ganduje in his inaugural speech 2015 page 2 paragraph 2. The Promises of which he (Gov. Ganduje) has the power and resources to execute (if he’s willing to) as the Chief Executive Officer of Kano State.

While reading and re-reading through the inaugural speech, one aspect that continuously caught my attention is Education. Obviously Education, because an ignorant man is doomed for poverty and the level of educational achievements made in the State by the Indefatigable Leader Engr Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso who bequeathed enduring and effective structures, from basic to tertiary levels, built solidly to stand the test of time. The primary schools with well-structured schools feeding system that was envied by many States including the Federal Government, the two set of free uniforms to each primary schools pupil, the massive purchase of instructional materials, the thousands of additional new blocks built and equipped (an upstairs building that can be seen throughout the State known popularly as Kwankwassiya blocks), the regular training and re-training of teachers, the prompt payment of salaries on the 25th of every month, the recruitment of additional staff, the renovations of existing classroom blocks and offices through Community Re-orientation Committees (CRC), the re-introduction of boarding primary schools and the teacher: student ratio of 1:54 (source~Kano state school census data MOE 2014/2015) and many more.

The secondary schools also enjoyed that excellent strides from Kwankwaso’s purposeful administration were he built and equipped 100 new laboratories to WAEC and NECO standard, built four (4) mega secondary schools, apart from the many junior and senior secondary schools built across the state. Additionally, he built houses for teachers in day secondary schools in most of the rural areas, provided a large number of long luxurious buses that constantly convey girls to and from schools, specifically to encourage girl-child education which was applauded by world-recognized NGO’s. Also, there were prompt payments of full salary every 25th day of the month, Car Loan for teachers, a teacher: student ratio of 1:31 in JSS and 1: 32 in SS( source ~ kano state school census data MOE 2014/2015) to mention just a few.

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The tertiary education experienced a revolution, the conceptualization and actualization of two-state: owned universities; The Kano State University of Science and Technology Wudil and the Northwest University Kano, the establishment and maintenance of more than twenty additional new higher institutions; Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso College of Arts and Remedial Studies, Tudun Wada, College of Arts and Remedial Studies, Kunchi, Informatics Institute, Kura, Reformatory Institute, Kiru, Fisheries Institute, Bagauda, Horticulture Institute, Bagauda, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Madobi, to mention but a few. He also Sponsored Kano State indigenes to various private universities at home and abroad based purely on merit for undergraduate and postgraduate studies respectively, which eventually placed Kano State among the States with the highest number of Masters and Ph.D. holders now. He Improved infrastructure in all the existing tertiary institutions; Audu Bako College of Agriculture, Dambatta, Aminu Kano College of Legal and Islamic Studies Kano, Kano State Polytechnic, Sa’adatu Rimi College of Education Kumbotso, College of Arts and Remedial Studies, Kano. The MIDAS touch is verifiable. There was the prompt payment of Registration Fees for Kano State indigenes who got admission into the Nigerian Law Schools nationwide, least I forget, there was Total Free Education at all levels in the State.

Umar Haruna Doguwa

The Above picture and many more are what His Excellency Governor  Abdullahi Umar Ganduje inherited on the 29th of May 2015 as Governor of Kano State in the Education sector alone and which he eloquently described in summary on page 2 of the inaugural speech as “excellent achievements”. These Achievements are what Governor Ganduje promised, pledged and sworn with the Holy Quran to continue with, listened to by the mammoth audience physically present and on the radio. He also was watched on YouTube, Television, Twitter, etc worldwide by millions of people interested in the development of Kano State. As the saying goes, promises and pledges are meant to be kept, because broken promises are like broken mirrors. They leave those who held to them bleeding and staring at broken images of themselves. They (Promises and pledges made during the campaign) must, therefore, be looked into in comparison with the sad story that obtains now.

“I pledge to continue with the good works”. Curiosity, I picked up my Oxford English Dictionary to find the real meaning of these words: used by a speaker to refer to himself or herself Pledge: (Noun) A solemn promise or undertaking. (Verb) Commit by solemn promise. Continue: To persist in an activity or process.

Good: Having the required qualities of high standards. Work: 1)A task or tasks to be undertaken. 2)A thing or things done or made, the result of an action.

After going through these definitions and knowing fully well what is obtained now in Kano State from primary to tertiary institutions- the near non- the existence of feeding program in primary schools, the cancellation of two sets of free uniforms to primary school pupils, the scarcity of instruction materials, the uncertainty of “full” salary even on the 30th of every month to teachers not to talk of car loans, the overcrowded classes with teacher: students ratio of 1:113 (Source ~KMOE Schools Census Data 2018). The epileptic services of school buses for girls where more than 60% of the vehicles were grounded over minor repairs, the overcrowded classes with teacher: students ratio of 1:52 for JSS and 1: 42 for SS (Source~ KMOE Schools CensusData 2018) which is below standard.

One may even be tempted to ask why am I using 2018 data when actually we are in 2020.

Well, that is the latest results available with the Government! I Seriously wonder which data do they use for planning!!!. The monumental disaster of closing established Schools e.g, School of Remedial Studies, Kunchi,  the Corporate Security Institute, Gabasawa, and many more.

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The cancellation of free education at all levels, in its place, announcing the free and compulsory education program for Primary schools only after amassing 15Billion Naira “Education Development Loan”. The Primary education that was made free and compulsory nationwide by Olusegun Obasanjo the then Head of State as far back as 1976 through UPE is now being made free again in 2020 (laughable). With all these in my mind, I begin to ask myself whether actually Governor Ganduje wanted to say in his inaugural speech (2015), “I pledge to DISCONTINUE the Good works”, Yes to discontinue, if not, how can an elderly man (71years old officially) fall short of keeping his promises and pledges made under oath willingly watched and listened to by millions worldwide, even as he has the means?

This I think, provides the missing link, as to why Kano people voted the way they did in the 2019 Governorship Election. This Government is not worth re-electing and the majority of Kano citizens did not re-elect it, but it was imposed on us and we are allowed to bear the cross of its emptiness, which Kano citizens saw right on time, accounting for why they refused to vote for it.

Umar Haruna Doguwa is a Former Chairman of APC in Kano

Thursday, July 15, 2020